Old water tower paint job

The water tower’s previous paint job.

The Redbird logo is now towering above Hancock Stadium.

The Town of Normal’s 500,000-gallon water tower between Hancock and University High School was recently sandblasted and recoated. The Redbird logo was added to the south side of the tower in early September, with the words “Illinois State University” painted on the north side.

The elevated storage tank needed a new internal and external coating, plus some additional steel repair work. The town hired American Suncraft Co. Inc. for the project, with support from Tank Industry Consultants. The town-gown Redbird Pride Committee supported the painting of the Illinois State logos.

Fun fact: It took 175 gallons of paint to cover the inside, 225 gallons on the outside, and 6 gallons for the logo.

Watch our time-lapse video of the project above!

Bob Tomaski can be reached at rdtomas@IllinoisState.edu. Ryan Denham can be reached at rmdenha@IllinoisState.edu.